Nowhere Networks is working to bring broadband to coastal areas of Greece, Italy and Spain in 2023, providing an alternative to satellite communications for passenger vessels and merchant ships
The Swedish company’s radiocommunications solution has already been implemented by two ferry companies in Greece, and several vessel operators, seafarers and passengers are using these networks in the Baltic and northern Europe.
Nowhere Networks expects more ferries and cruise ships to use the expanded Mediterranean network in Greece, Italy and Spain as the infrastructure is installed next year.
Ships are connected with high-speed internet at all times via radiocommunications from land-based transceiver masts to onboard directional antennas with built-in antenna tracking technology to automatically communicate using the wireless signal between ship and land.
“Our land-based network for connectivity at sea is already the largest in the world,” said Nowhere Networks chief executive Asbjörn Frydenlund. “Now we are expanding it to Greece, Italy and Spain. We see great potential as these are large markets and the demand for broadband connectivity is universal.”
Many ships run regular services between islands and cities in the region and cruise ships sail in the Mediterranean. The only broadband option for these vessels to date has been internet via mobile near land and via satellite connections at sea.
“The demand for secure and cost-effective broadband is enormous,” said Mr Frydenlund. “This is a game changer for all customers involved, as we are building broadband capacity to ships at a level no one thought possible. We already cover most of the sea routes in northern Europe, the Mediterranean is the continuation of our rapid expansion.”
Nowhere Networks uses technology similar to that mobile operators use to link mobile masts together, but with moving targets at one end in the form of ships.
“We combine our mobile and stabilised antennas with cloud-based software that continuously monitors, adjusts and ensures ships get the best possible connection,” said Mr Frydenlund.
The intelligent cloud-based software platform can scale to over 10,000 vessels and enables automated control and automatic resource optimisation.
